Oikawa

Rolling over, the frosted cub eyes began to glow. Oikawa nodded at king's resolve and gripped his spear tighter. "It's a shame your crew perished to me and me alone. I can only imagine your fate would be the same." Burlock merely cackled at his declaration. "It seems yere mistaken me fer someone who care's boy. I am much more than my old crew." Roaring out the captain charged at Oikawa. Instinctively, Oikawa raised his spear to defend the blow. His brute strength and speed far outclassed any of the pirates he had slain already. "Tch. You may not be your crew, but your fate will be the same nonetheless Burlock." Deflecting the blow, Oikawa backed up a few paces to put space between them. "I suppose I will actually need to try this time around." Dropping his stance lower, the brunette began to glow. "Bring it on then boy," the captain challenged.

Spotting four more eggs in the box next to the chest, Oikawa made haste in collecting them and headed back out to check on King. Suddenly a resounding crack echoed through out the campsite. Dashing out of the tent, Oikawa spotted a hulking figure holding something white in his hands. Retrieving his spear, Oikawa's golden eyes glowed with annoyance as he realized the man was holding his familiar, King. "Stop right ere' boy," commanded the captain of the stolen ship. His vitals toggling into as Oikawa came to a halt. Planting his staff, Oikawa retorted defiantly. "You have have about three seconds to gently place my familiar on the ground and I won't kill you right away." Burlock smirked. Beady eyes scanned the brunette over before tossing the cub over his back and drawing his blade. "What're yer gonna do about it?" Oikawa's initial reaction would've been to go check on the cub, but he knew the antics were to make him do something stupid as his familiar wouldn't sustain damage from that.

Oikawa hefted the eggs and continued his search. Parading the next tent, he realized that it may have belonged to the Boatswains as it was a lot more elegant and put together than the rest. A few oil lamps line the sides of the tent, illuminating the beds the and chests that lay inside. There even seemed to be a makeshift cabinet or dressing room. "I wonder if they were...together? Like intimately..." He wondered if the NPCs could have intimate relationships. But given how scripted the previous dialogue sounded he dismissed the thought altogether. Shaking his head, he continued to search around the room for anything of value. Not seeing much, he spotted a black chest in the back of the tent. With his interest piqued, he unlatched the chest and grinned at the sign of the perfectly intact eggs. "Either the RNG in this game is something else or even pirates were getting in on the Easter egg hunt."

Pawing the ground, King began sniffing the middle of the campgrounds. Several dozen barrels and chests lay about. Though most of them were filled with useless items like clothes and weapons that he knew Oikawa couldn't use. Doing some searching of his own, Oikawa peered into several tents. Observing them one by one for any evidence of eggs or other worthwhile loot. Not finding much, the brunette nearly tripped over a cloth bag laying at the end of the tent. Picking it up, he loosened the drawstrings holding it together and peered inside. Much to his surprise, he emptied the contents to find three eggs sitting among the random clothes the bag held. Collecting them, he searched the area over for King. The cub had to be close by, but couldn't see him in his direct line of sight. "Hopefully he didn't go too far," he thought. Just as he was about to peek into the next tent, he kicked an ore laying around as well. "Hmm, materials too? This quest is bountiful."

"Ahh you would be right," responded the brunette as Shield pointed out the party limit. Wrestling with his catch, Oikawa carefully reeled in another set of eggs. He then cast out another line. "I agree with Shield. At any given point we can amass the maximum and according to this verbiage you can just as easily go with the bare minimum of two. Needless to say, you have options," he explained with a soft grin. Checking back through his last hauls, Oikawa could tell his numbers were beginning to dwindle. "Hmm, I wonder if its a time thing or just a coincidence, but my last few catches have been subpar to say the least. I'm barely getting more than six eggs, which while only two less than the current maximum, has been far to consistent with not getting the maximum you know?" He was still getting eggs at the very least, just not the amount he would have cared for. At this rate, Shield would more than likely beat them out. "But I'm with Shield, overall I'm pretty satisfied with today's loot. I pretty much have what i need to get the rewards I want."

Old Items:

x1 Major Damage Potion II - [Adds +6 damage. Lasts for one thread.]

x1 Major Armor Crystal II - [Adds +54 mitigation. Lasts for one thread.]

New Items:

x2 Perfect Tier 3 Damage Potion - [Gain +3 Base Damage. Effect lasts for one thread.]

x2 Perfect Tier 3 Mitigation Crystal - [Gain + 45 Mitigation. Effect lasts for one thread.]

Whilst still grasping the handle of his rod, Oikawa managed to flick up the menu and locate the announcement for the Easter event. Scanning it over, he paused a moment. Slapping his face, Oikawa shook his head and called over to Shield. "Oi, you may want to hold your horses on that little plan. If I'm reading this right, while you can do the dungeon multiple times, you only get the special rewards from it once." Suddenly his line pulled, causing the menu to vanish from view as he brought his other hand to the reel. Tugging back and forth, he finally managed to dislodge the the fish from the watery clutches of the lake and plop the four eggs it held into his stash. Momentarily satisfied with his triumph, Oikawa continued. "You can never be too competitive in an MMO like this. Aside from your drive, the only people that suffer from it are those that can't keep up. I'm sure Shield can attest to that," he explained with a grin.

"As for a dungeon crawl party, I imagine not only would myself and Shield join you, but you mentioned Baldur and Macradon as well. I think all of us wouldn't mind beating up some egg themed monsters with you." Gazing back out towards the cavern lake, Oikawa sighed. "You sell yourself short Mari. Shield tell her." He wasn't sure what he was going for but he hoped Shield could add some insight to his simple words.

@Shield @Mari

Oikawa meant no true ill will to these pirates, however what they had done to that poor sailor could not go unpunished. Thought it was just a quest and nothing to get worked up about, Oikawa felt that this could be the start of adding to his purpose. His redemption. He needed to take small steps in showing Aincrad here is more than the man that slayed his best friend. He is more than a killer. The irony of it being, he had to kill things in the process. Luckily, they were engineered by Cardinal and not more human beings. Jessamine eyes widened as he approached. She knew what was to come next and only chose to accept her fate as Oikawa thrust his spear into her depleting the rest of her health. As she burst into polygons Oikawa motioned for King to come out. "Scour the site for more eggs. We can collect whatever they have before taking on the Captain. my health is fine, but I don't want to accidentally over-exert my energy if I don't have too." Nodding the cub set off to look for more eggs. "I may even have to fish for some on the way back if time permits," he thought.

Much like before, Oikawa had managed to vanish into thin air. The crisp tendrils of night keeping him hidden from the remaining Boatswain's searching eyes. Unfortunately for her, Mob's weren't known for having [Night Vision] and given his build, he was way more equipped to attack from the shadows than she was to deal with it. Oikawa now began to understand Hikoru's fascination with a stealth build. The auto-hit status trigger was very useful though he could imagine how much more damage he could have dealt if he had gone the assassin route of the mod. Stepping from the shadows once more, he managed to impale Jessamine from behind. Several stabs riddled her spine, rendering her immobile as the statuses began to take effect. "Y-you're a coward," she spat as the paralysis consumed the rest of her ability to talk. The bleed status slowing ticking away her health with little regard to her defenses. Not that they were good to begin with. The dark man only shrugged before raising his glowing blade once more. "And you're the one that's dead/ Imagine that."

Jessamine stared in horror as her fellow Boatswain was knocked unconscious in seconds. "H-How dare you. You-u little b-brat!" she exclaimed. "Amir! Get up! Kill this boy so we can be on our way, less I have to do everything myself." The man seemingly came to, but yet again he would feel the blows from Oikawa's spear, as he activate yet another [Dimension Stampede]. The spear racked the man's frame. Four new puncture wounds appearing on his torso as he staggered back from the attack. However, the most astounding part, was that his health points had already managed to dip below zero. For only moments he reached out towards Jessamine before dissolving into polygons. "AMIRRR!!!" she yelled out. Before glancing to the brunette. Oikawa simply smirked and dissolved into the shadows once more with [Vanish]. "You're next," was all he whispered before disappearing into the dark backdrop of the campsite.

The Boatswain duo frantically looked around. Neither able to make a trace of the brunette that was before them only moments ago. From the darkness Oikawa's blade glowed. The familiar purple hue enveloping him as his passive skill activated. With an attack from the shadows, not only could he not miss, but all his status effects would trigger at once. Not only ensuring that he'd incapacitate the man for a moment but also allowing him to kill him with as little resistance as possible. Circling them, Oikawa focused on Amir since he challenged him first. With little hesitation, Oikawa erupted from the darkness. He plunged his blade into the Boatswain four times before the man could even react; ending the assault with a somersault dropkick to the head. Though his damage output was halved, the attack wore on him rather quickly as the familiar signs of bleed and paralysis took effect. "Now that I have your attention, boy. Hear these words. You lot never stood a chance to begin with."

Collecting two more eggs nestled together at the base of the tree next to him, Oikawa fixed his cloak before emerging from the treeline. Dark eyes centered on him as the lady in blue met his gaze. "So you're the one who has been killing all my men huh?" The brunette knew the question was rhetorical but decided to entertain her nonetheless. "Yes and so what?" he retorted. Brandishing a smug look, he defiantly planted his spear and continued. "You took that of which does not belong to you and you have the audacity to try and kill me. You efforts are laughable to say the least." The woman began to fume. "AMIR!!! Come handle this brat so we can make haste before dawn."

"Fine," echoed a booming voice as a hulking figure emerged from the central tent. "Will you quiet down Jessamine. The boss is already in a mood today." Turning towards Oikawa the giant man grinned. "I'll take you on boy." Oikawa's eyes widened. "Boy? Tch. I'm not your boy," he muttered before letting the shadows swallow him.

"Jessamine, where did he go ?"

Oikawa gave them a quizzical look as they mentioned special dungeon maps and demonic loot farming. He did only skim the event however, so it made sense that he wasn't familiar with what they were talking about. He had his own set of demonics as well. A set that defined his play-style and gave him notoriety in one-versus-one combat. He was unparalleled at the time to say the least. though that was because numbers, health, over-health, and damage was quite different back then. Brandishing the six eggs that he had just reeled in, Oikawa tossed at his line once more before chiming in. "Hmm when it comes time for the dungeon raids you speak of, I'd love to join if you can spare the room. I'll of course provided what I can in eggs as I assume they are a reward to be bought as well right?" Glancing more towards Mari, Oikawa chuckled at as they both mentioned not being too far ahead of his egg count. 

"Hmm well I guess this is still winnable given I just hauled egg number sixty-eight." Jokingly he nudged her and patted his lap. "If you're still feeling drained in a bit, you can always reverse the roles and take a nap here."

@Shield @Mari

"Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!!" a sweet silky voice hollered out. "Come on now player. Surely you didn't think you'd be able to hide from Amir and I after slaying all our men, did you?" The sound of her voice was still distant, but Oikawa knew that wouldn't be the case for long. Maneuvering into a crouch, Oikawa peered through the foliage to spot who remained at the campsite.  Dark curls overlapped the collar of the blue jacket the lass wore. A single blade in her right hand as she paced back and forth in front of the fire. The one named Amir was still hidden from sight, but the brunette could only imagine that he was as burly as the woman was elegant. Taking a half-step back, he nearly tripped over a couple of eggs protruding from the ground. "It's amazing how I didn't see them before," he mused before collecting them and stowing them away. Looking at his energy, he was sure in a couple of moments it would be back to full. "King prepare yourself. We have some Boatswains to kill," he explained with a triumphant grin on his face.

Oikawa stayed on guard. Despite being out of sight of the campsite, he was critically aware of the amount of aggro he had drawn in the area. Surely the Boatswains would come looking for him soon enough. Though he was in no rush to be found if he was being honest with himself. "It has been quite some time since I've exerted myself to this extent. Granted it is only half my energy, that is more than I am using to expending on a quest. Though most quests have a singular enemy not seven. I also chose to partake in this alone. Not that it is difficult, just tedious when alone." his thoughts subsided briefly as King toggled into view. The snow leopard cub pawing around in his vigilant patrol of the perimeter; despite Oikawa not defining what that exact perimeter was. The brunette admired his companion. Always by his side through it all. Even when he spent time away from the frontlines and relegated them to what felt like an eternity of fireplace naps. He was sure King didn't mind that part, however. 

His ego was fully stroked by this point. He was assured victory even if he missed his first blow and he knew the pirates were unable to kill him in one blow. It was a low risk situation to say the least and he was going to fully embrace the carnage to ensue. Once more his blade crackled with raw red energy. An uncontrollable blaze of lightning arced around the spear tip. Streaks of static ripping through the ground as he ripped forward in one swift movement. The pirate’s chest snapped in an explosion of blows leaving behind the faint glow of red wisps from where Oikawa's spear punctured him. Ragged breathing expelled from the brunette. He managed to dispatch this deckhand in one blow and the rest of the deckhands altogether at the cost of nearly half his energy. "King, keep a look out. I'm going to rest for a moment to regain my energy and my health before we proceed." Nodding, King's glowing eyes dimmed as he scanned the campsite for movement.

Just as the fifth deckhand burst through the tree line, Oikawa speared the fourth deckhand; causing him to burst into a confetto of polygon-like crystals. Aiming his spear at the next target, he grinned. "Well that leaves me and you to tango. And while it takes two tango, I will be the last one standing." King watched on from the shrubbery. His blue eyes glowing as he channeled his fighting spirit into the brunette. Between the two of them they were quite a lethal combo. Oikawa knew he would need to rest after this so taking him out efficiently and quietly would be the most beneficial before taking on the two Boatswains and the Captain. Oikawa motioned to the deckhand. "You guys were all high and mighty moments ago. Where did all that rage, and energy disappear to? Surely you aren't frightened by me. I'm hardly a threat, right? RIGHT?!"

As soon as the deckhand made his move, Oikawa was upon. Four machine gun blows rattled the pirates torso. Lifting him up just high enough for him to deliver a near death blow as he impaled him with his spear. The concussive knock-back propelled the the pirate back sending him careening into the rocks. Rising up watched a static crackled over his lifeless body. The health bar blinking rapidly with only a sliver of red remaining within its opaque frame. Flicking the digital splatter from the tip of Mob-Stopper, Oikawa sighed with disdain. "Tch. To think you lived with an inch of health. My own strength is pathetic." He then glanced at his vitals. "Hmph. My energy reserves are depleting rapidly as well. I'll need to finish you and the other deckhand quickly before taking on the rest of your chain of command." The man sat there motionless and wordless. The paralysis ensuring at least that much.

Tightening the grip on his spear, Oikawa circled the last of the two pirates. His spear growing a bright crimson as it crackled to life. His amber eyes were determined. Focused. His only goal was eliminating each threat as it came and he knew that one on one, none of these pirates were a match for him. Not even their glorious captain. A slight snarl crept at his face and then suddenly, he was gone. A flicker of brown and white erupted into the pirate as his spear pierced through the pirate's pitiful excuse for armor. The explosion of polygons engulfed the man and his cub before dissolving as they hit the ground. Twirling the spear in one hand, wind blew from beneath it as he planted it in the ground. The bushes rumbled nearby. His gaze homed in on the newest addition to his hit list. "Just one this time, eh?" he smirked. "Your strategy is pointless if I mow you all down one by one." Motioning for the pirate to come at him, Oikawa tensed up for his next move.

"A numbers man then. Respectable and an oddity in our..um..dilemma...if you will." Brushing a hand through his chestnut bangs, amber eyes darted to the line that began to show signs of some life. "A valuable skill though if I'm being completely honest," he commended. His attention was then returned to the ginger lass between them. A flustered look painted her features as she her head vigorously shook from left to right. Oikawa couldn't help but chuckle initially, but his expression softened as Mari explained the situation a little more. He was unsure if she wanted the date, but given her response he felt that she didn't feel worthy of going on one in the first place from her tone.

Oikawa gave her shoulder a small squeeze and words of encouragement followed. "Any guy would be lucky to take you out. Don't be so down on yourself." He was half tempted to flick her in the forehead, a homage to Mari's knack for flicking him in the head when he was being to pessimistic to himself, but decided against it.

Reeling in his line to retrieve the four eggs delicately collected at the end of his hook, Oikawa looked up at Shield's mention of mob farming. "Back when I still held [Gatherer] as a skill, that was my go to weapon to farm materials for my smithery." Mari soon chimed in. Mentioning her recent decision to delve into a more support role. Oikawa nodded in agreement. "Surprisingly enough, I was looking into it as well. We have plenty of DPS but we are lacking in tanks and support from what I've been told." Not bothering to look at their egg piles, Oikawa cast out his line again. "So how many eggs are we at now? I'm approaching sixty-five I believe." 

@Shield @Mari

"So not only are we not fighting fair, you really just attacked me from behind. Do you pirates not have any manners?" exclaimed the brunette aloud. The question would be rhetorical of course seeing as how their response seemed rather scripted for the time being. The conversation degraded to grunts and the sounds of swords clanging off one another as Oikawa lunged for the non-paralyzed deckhand. With a thrust of his mighty spear, he overshot the deckhand. Zipping past him before turning on his heal and opting to impale the paralyzed mob instead. This attack left him exposed as deckhand number two barreled in for another blow. Staggering back, Oikawa looked at his health bar. There was hardly any damage dealt but, he was expending far too much energy on these lesser creatures. King growled as seemingly more deckhands were en-route. Knowing that three versus one was less than desirable, Oikawa turned to face the remaining deckhand. "Lets wrap this up, shall we?"

The two deckhands split to avoid his initial lunge. Opting to surround him on either side, while circling him. Amber eyes darted back and forth, assessing the the next best move for him while still managing to harm both of the deckhands. At minimum he figured it would take two attacks he could either go for an AOE attack knocking them both below half health, or he could just take them out 1 at a time. Energy-wise, the AOE would be his best move. Solidifying his plan, he waited for them to enclose a little closer before unleashing a whirlwind three hundred and sixty degree sweeping attack. Knocking the third deckhand down, he managed to nip through his arm enough to activate his paralytic venom and afflict him with bleed. "Gaarrrhhh," roared out the second deckhand as he retaliated with a slash from behind. Taking the brunt of the attack, Oikawa leaped back to keep the deckhand from being able to pick up his comrade.

Activating <Revolve Arts>, Oikawa delivered two back-to-back roundhouse kicks to dispatch of the first deckhand. The attacks felt good and he hardly wasted any energy on that last attack. However, given his attack wasn't from stealth this time, he tipped off the rest of the deckhands to his location. Scrambling towards him, King snarled as he heard the footfall of two enemies approach. "Go get him you useless drones," shouted one of the Boatswains. The voice sounded feminine, surprising the brunette as two of the remaining deckhands broke free from the rocks and trees obscuring his view into the campsite.

"Two on one? Surely you'll fight fair right?"

The two pirates looked amongst each other and grinned before closing in on Oikawa. "I guess not. I gotta say; however, you guys should have waited for you back up. Because now I'm going to kill you both." Raising his spear he lurched forward for his attack.

Materializing, King took off in the opposite direction of the single deckhand nearest them. Seeing his target, King snapped a few twigs that were lying about to get the attention of the deckhand.  Snapping his head in the direction of the sound, the deckhand's gaze averted from where Oikawa lurked from the shadows. Emerging from the tendrils of darkness, Oikawa's spear began to glow a radiant red as he unleashed a barrage of stabs into the the deckhand before cracking him over the head with butt end of the spear. The attack was far too quick and nearly killed him to the in one swift blow. The status icons for paralysis and bleed bobbled into the brunettes view. The paralysis ensured the man couldn't yell out for help and bleed was just icing on the cake. Twirling the spear in hand, Oikawa was quite pleased with himself. Though the fifty percent decrease in damage was something he forgot to account for when choosing this build. Placing a finger to his lips, he prepared another attack to finish off the first of many enemies.

As they approached the collection of tents, Oikawa motioned for King to dissolve, that way they wouldn't be detected by the deckhands on lookout. Looking to the shadows himself, Oikawa let the darkness envelop him before moving forward. He hadn't been able to properly test the damage output of his latest spear and wanted to use his new skills for once. If everything went according to plan, the entire pirate crew would be taken out before anyone was the wiser. Flickering through the leaves, Oikawa caught a glimpse of the crew. The sailor seemed to be telling the truth. There were about five deckhands patrolling the grounds and from what he could see, there were two more prominent figures giving orders from the tents. The captain however was nowhere to be seen. "Hmm, I'll start with the deckhand on my left and then proceed to those two over there." Though King wasn't visible, the cub knew exactly what to do next.